“This is going to sound lofty . . . but it has become apparent to me that we - as a society, a world, a country - need connection to place now more than ever . . . . Having public lands, green spaces, [and] public parks for people to experience, recreate, and learn in makes us better people.”

Maybe “bloom where you’re planted” is not quite what we are up to at TSS. Maybe it is better to bloom where you’re needed, or invited, or where you can be of service. What is most important of all, maybe, is just to bloom, wherever you are.

On our last night in the backcountry, the girls on W.O.L.V.E.S. spread about our campsite with their journals. We had posed to them a question: Why has it been important for you that this be an all-female trip?